IMMORTALIZED - Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour by Cirque Du Soleil

Chapter 19: The End Of The North American Tour

August 2, 2012 - August 22, 2012
Boston, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Mexico City

The next day was going to be very exciting. A large majority of the tour staff is going to the beach for the day. Leo’s family was coming to that as well. We were up earlier than normal, about nine. We had showered, gotten ready and were all set to go to the beach. Bags, towels, swimming trunks and everything. I had gotten an address from Tara and we were going to get a Taxi for Adrian, Marcell and I while Leo rides with his family who will follow us to the beach.
The taxi had beat us outside. It was already there and ready to go. I informed the driver that we were still waiting for people. “Ticker’s running.” Was his only response. And he was quite rude about it too.
Tara came at the last minute (kinda) asking if she could ride with us to the beach. “Sure”. I answered. Finally, Leo’s family arrived and he was ecstatic to see them. He immediately hopped in the car with them. I told his father (who was driving) just to follow the Taxi. Then I informed the Taxi driver that we’d have a car following us. Once everyone was loaded into the specific cars, we headed to the beach. A short drive compared to what we are used to, but long in a way because we thought the beach was closer. It was just outside the city part of Boston, more in the suburbs.
All day was a blast. We swam, played volleyball, and more volleyball, relaxed in the sand, got some tan and I actually sat down a read a book on my phone for a bit, something I’d been longing to do actually. Leo had an awesome time hanging out with a large chunk of his family. His immediate family, plus his Aunt and Uncle and cousins on his Mom’s side came up, and they all are going to go see Leo’s Dad’s side of the family who are also coming to see the show. Leo will have a large audience of fans in the show tomorrow.
Before we left the beach, Tara approached me and pulled me away from the group I was talking to. “Want to find out who the new dancer is?” She asked. I nodded urgently. “Well, it’s Josh!” She said. I smiled really big. “That’s awesome! Plus he know’s a lot of the dances!” I exclaimed. I was so excited. “Yup, I knew you’d be excited. So he’ll be in Boston in the morning, and you need to reteach him the few songs he filled in for back in Atlanta and then he’ll perform it in Boston while we train him on the other parts to replace Ryan in.” She said. I nodded with a smile. Well at least something came out of this lousy situation.
I called Josh and he answered. “I’m assuming you heard?” He answered. “Yup, Tara just told me. So I’ll be seeing you tomorrow?” I asked. “Yeah, my Mom and I have a really early flight out in the morning.” He told me. I looked at the time on my phone. It was 4:05. “Well, do me a favor and start refreshing yourself on the choreography so that when you get here tomorrow, you will already be ahead. You’ll be on stage tomorrow night!” I exclaimed. We talked for a few more minutes on the phone before he excused himself to pack. “Any suggestions on packing?” He asked me. “Pack lightly, but heavily. Bring at least two suitcases, another bag and a backpack. It’ll be warm where we go for the rest of the tour, so only pack a little bit of clothes for the cold.” I told him. I then proceeded on giving him a few tricks before we hung up the phone.
It had been decided that Leo and his family were going to make the forty-five minute trip up to their family’s house tonight, so Adrian, Marcell and I cut out beach stop short by like an hour and went back to the hotel with him. While Leo packed up a night bag, I talked to him and his Mom. “Leo, Josh is replacing Ryan in the show, and he’ll be here tomorrow for rehearsals, but don’t worry about being here. You’re clear to miss. Just make sure you’re back by six and hopefully you’ll have dinner beforehand?” I asked. “Yep, we’ll make sure he eats before we hand him back.” His Mom told me. “Now do we drop him off at the arena?” She asked. “Yes, anytime in the afternoon, he can be dropped off.” I said.
“How do we know where the stage door is?” She asked. “Leo has a map in his email somewhere and he can tell you. You have your ID, right?” I asked. He nodded. It was on his hip. “Don’t lose it.” I smiled. Him and his Mom then left. “If anything changes, I’ll let you know.” His Mom said. I nodded and they left. Now since Adrian and Marcell weren’t in the room when I told Leo about the replacement, so I went into their room to tell them. Just like I was, they were ecstatic too! They love Josh and were very excited to have him joining the tour.
We were all quite tired from the beach, which led us to fall asleep early. I was actually watching TV in Adrian and Marcell’s room and they fell asleep silently. So I turned off the TV and the lights and headed to my room and fell asleep. I didn’t turn on any lights or anything. I just took of my socks, climbed into bed and drifted off.
The next morning, my phone rang, which woke me up. I turned and looked at the clock. It was 10:30. I had slept really late. “Just got Josh and Deena from the airport. Bringing them back to the hotel now, what are you doin?” She asked. “Just woke up.” I replied. “Remember, rehearsal at one, don’t be late.” She told me.
I had figured that if they boys weren’t awake by now, they should be. So I walked over, unlocked the door and woke them up gently. It was one of those mornings where Marcell asked “Where are we?” and I had to remind him what city we were in. I sat in their room, in shorts and a beater and we ordered room service for breakfast. It’s a common theme.
While we were eating, I heard some ruckus in the halls. We live on a floor of guys from tour, so it’s nothing unusual, except for the voices I was hearing weren’t normal ones from the tour. I peeked outside. I saw Josh, Deena and Tara. I went up and bro-hugged Josh.
Having Josh on the tour was quite exciting. “The next few days will be a bit intense, but for now, like you said, you want to do something about your suitcases.” Tara said. I looked over at them. They were old and crappy. “Yeah, we gotta fix that asap.” She said. I looked at the clock. “We have two hours until rehearsal, we can go and head to the market and find you stuff?” I asked. They were willing. So Adrian, Marcell and I got properly dressed and started heading out with Deena and Josh. “Where’s Leo?” He asked. “He’s visiting family. He’ll be back tonight.” I answered.
We found a luggage store and I helped Josh buy two new suitcases and a new travel bag. He should be set now. But by this time, we had to head into rehearsals. We stopped at the hotel to drop off the luggage, grab our bags for work and head on in.
Josh caught on real fast. He had learned it before in record time, and we just reminded him and made it better. We were really able to perfect Beat It, which we did over and over the entire afternoon, other than the four other songs he’s in. Tomorrow, we’ll start choreographing him into the other parts of the show. In addition to learning Beat It, there was a lot to do for the integration for the show. When he was in Montreal, all of his measurements were taken for costumes and wigs and such, so his costumes are being refitted, but will use Ryan’s, who’s somewhat close to his size for now. In addition, his hair needed to be cut to be more of a buzz. It’s grown out to more like it was before his performance in Atlanta, but it needs to remain short now. In addition, the black hair dye we used earlier wasn’t meant to last longer than a few weeks, so his hair was back to orange. Josh’s a ginger. Josh ate dinner while the hairdresser colored his hair using a very expensive and fancy hair dye that is supposed to last two months. Plus, another person on tour had to order some more makeup to cover up his freckles so their not as noticeable. I’ve noticed that they are disappearing as he gets older but there are still a few there and he just needs to whiten them so they're not as noticeable with the lights.
Deena was able to get a seat for the show to see the start of Joshs permanent installment. Leo got back in time not only to work, but a bit early as well to give his entire family a backstage tour as well as run through the Jackson 5 Medley once with Josh. Leo was happy to start the show. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we were all very happy to start the show since we don’t normally stay on tour this long and not perform. Normally, we have breaks.
After the show, Tara had to get a picture of the five of us. “Now go get some rest, because starting tomorrow afternoon, you’ll be learning all new dances.” She told Josh. He nodded with a smile. Josh was very happy, and was going to have an extremely quick integration process into the show. It’s bad enough we have a few missings spots from the show.
Back at the hotel, I spent the late night chatting with friends on skype. I still didn’t see any sign of Ryan on Facebook. I figured that if he didn’t show up by tomorrow, I’d text him. I spent some time with Josh and his Mom and their room, explaining to Josh how I control the boys and what to really expect on tour. “It’s not a 9 to 5, five days a week job. It’s literally whenever they need you, you’re there. We get a lot of free time, but the priority is the show.” I told him. We also discussed doing a few Masterclasses, especially when we get to Los Angeles, because he has friends there.
The following morning, I was told via Text from Tara to work on the Megamix, so starting with ‘Don’t Stop’ and going through Billie Jean. He remembered parts of it from when I was teaching Adrian and Leo in Atlanta, but I still needed to teach him. It wasn’t too hard. He can pick up quite easily.
In the afternoon, I went into the arena with Josh. Together, with the boys, we rehearsed and I taught him the choreography for the Immortal Megamix. He’s not ready to join the show for that yet, but he’ll be real soon.
When it came time for the second show, beforehand, I went into a meeting with Tara, Cherylie, Deena and Josh about travelling. Of course, Deena would not be touring with us. But tomorrow, we fly to Vancouver and because of the vacation plans, Josh won’t be back in Atlanta until mid September. It’s currently the beginning of August. During the meeting, Tara and Cherylie talked about the Europe leg and Josh officially got his tour ID pass and his luggage numbers.
Once again, the show was successful and the only audience members who noticed the difference in the show was Deena, who once again, sat in the audience. As we left the arena that night, I reflected on what had happened in this city. Our stop in this city was a week long, and a lot can happen in a week on tour. That’s what I learned.
The following morning, we were up early. It was nine when I woke up Adrian and Marcell. I heard ruckus from across the hall so I knew Josh was up. I woke Leo up and we proceeded to pack up the room. We almost trashed the room, something we rarely do, so we double and triple checked that we had absolutely everything before moving out into the hall.
I waited for Josh and his Mom before we went down in the elevator. It took two trips to get us down. We’ve gotten pretty good about stuffing ourselves and our things into one elevator, but this one was small and needed two trips. Once in the lobby of the hotel, Josh saw the bus outside and immediately recognized that this was it. Deena’s Taxi was also in front of the bus. Behind those two very different vehicles was the other five buses that transport the staff on tour.
We packed up our things onto the cubby’s below the bus and got on. I watched Josh’s goodbye from the window. Tara was there with him. He was excited but I think nervous to begin this adventure that would adjoin him for the next two years.
Josh was last on the bus and with that, Cherylie adjourned attendance and gave the drivers a go. Deena watched as the bus drove off. Josh, just a few feet after pulling out, he turned and began this journey.
Once we got to the airport, I filled him in on the procedures. “When we get off the bus, you’ll go stand in line to get on the plane. The airport staff will get our bags for us. They’ll ‘wand’ you and then you can get on the plane.” I told him. “Wand?” He asked. “As in, that stick they scan you with in airports and beeps if you have something metal on you. That thing.” I told. “Oh!” He laughed.
Just like we’ve done probably thirty times more before, all the staff got off the bus, stood in line to get on the plane and got on the plane. In addition to just any old plane, this was the special plane. Actually, we’ve never had this plane before, but on some flights, they put the tour logo over the seats, so it feels like ‘home’.
The flight seemed like it took forever. It took eight hours to get from Boston to Vancouver, but in time zone reasoning, it was only a five hour flight. It felt much more than those two numbers. When we landed in Vancouver, I was so ready to get off that plane. As normal, because we had crossed the border from the US to Canada, we had to go through Passport checks. In all honesty, Adrian, Marcell and I should be allowed in the country without a passport because of how often we’re here. They should just have our face on a poster saying that we’re just allowed it. Like Duh.
Once we were through the border ‘officially’, we took a bus to our hotel in Vancouver. It was now close to five in the afternoon, and we had spent nearly all day travelling, which sucks. Plus, my phone doesn’t work up here since my international plan expired and I was too lazy to get another one. Something we need to do on this stop. We are all listed on Cherylie’s phone plane, so we just need to go and get that setup not only for North America, but also the rest of the world now. It’s about time.
We checked into the hotel, in which I gave Josh the trick of getting off the bus early to get your key to the room and then get in line for the elevator quickly. Randomly while in line, I thought and told Josh that he has to learn French.
We went out, just the five of us to find food. This is our second time in Vancouver, and we really enjoyed the Hard Rock Cafe in this city when we were here in the fall, so we went to it again. “Well I definitely don’t have to worry about money anymore.” Josh laughed as we sat down and looked at the menu. “Just go for it dude.”
After eating at the Hard Rock, we just walked around Vancouver a bit more. While walking away, I dropped by a candy shop and picked up some fudge. I love chocolate, so I had to. We stayed out, just hanging out and messing around with Adrian’s video camera until nearly nine then went back to the hotel and enjoyed the outdoor pool for an hour.
While in the pool, we were invited by Shondra and some others to go with them to a waterpark on Tuesday. We have almost a week off here, with not a show until Friday (it’s Sunday) so that can fill up one day of doing nothing. But I do know that a lot of this week will be spent choreographing Josh into the show. Tara said he wants him on stage fully on Friday.
The following day was a day exploring Vancouver. The best thing about this city is that there is so much to do in their downtown area. We played Lazer Tag, went to an italian buffet for lunch. We sat and watched a movie at the movie theater and when it began to get dark, we headed back to the hotel and I worked on Choreography in the hallway with Josh. About an hour in, Giannini and Leeco showed up and Giannini stayed outside of his room to help me. By the time we went to sleep that night, Josh learned the full dance to ‘Smooth Criminal’ and was quite good at it.
The next day was very eventful. We left the hotel around nine to visit this waterpark, about half an hour outside of Vancouver. Some friends rented some cars and we drove there instead of renting. It was a perfect day for the drive and to visit the park. Sunny, warm but not too hot. When we arrived, got settled in and started in the Wave Pool, we learned that the temperature of the water in the park was nice and warm (in a good way), and wasn’t too cold.
The day at the park was very expensive, very. The food bill for the entire day must’ve been close to $50. I did eat a lot, but I could’ve gotten the equivalent at McDonalds for less than half that.
We left the park around four in the afternoon, mostly tired and needing naps. It didn’t stop us from stopping at an actual McDonalds on the way back, but it meant that (at least for the boys, Josh and I) we’d be spending the rest of the night chilling in the hotel. We spent the night going between the three rooms, but spent the majority of the time in Adrian’s room playing video games. For a partial part of the night, I spent it talking to Ryan on skype. Not on video, but chatting. It was painful. Real painful. I don’t even want to explain.
Later in the night, we walked out because we wanted something to eat. The area our hotel is in, we’ve learned is quite safe at night, unlike a few blocks over. We took a walk a few blocks down and eventually stopped at an Ice Cream Parlor, just getting ready to close. They were happy (or at least looked it). Because they were closing though, we had to walk back to the hotel, eating it. It was getting chilly in the night and we didn’t really want to stay outside anyway, especially eating ice cream.
The next morning wasn’t really any better. It was a hoody type of day, but maybe more because we’ve been used to the heat and a few temperature difference actually does affect us. Josh didn’t really feel it, but the other four of us were wearing hoody’s.
Josh had discussed plans with me earlier of doing a masterclass in Los Angeles with his friends dance company and wanted the four of us, along with him to lead it. I told him that we’d be up for it and to make arrangements asap around the touring schedule. He emailed the company owner, whom he’s met before and she emailed almost immediately back. The date was set. Wednesday, August 15th. We don’t have much time for hanging out in LA because we’ve been told quite recently that they’re totally restaging ‘Beat It’ and we have restaging in LA for Europe.
In the afternoon, I worked with Josh inside of the rented conference room in the hotel to make sure he’s confident on everything he knows and then add him to Wanna Be Startin’ Something, which is very difficult to learn. It’s a lot of random and diverse movements that never repeat itself. It took on the upwards of three hours to get through and memorize the entire song. And that’s moving at a speedy pace and then another two hours, through dinnertime actually fixing and tying it all together. It was stressful, but with only two more days until he needs the entire show in his brain.
That night, there was a staffwide email sent out about a mandatory full show rehearsal on Friday. We’d run through the show twice, once without costumes and one with. Josh would be doing costumes for both so he can get used to it. Everyone is expected at the arena by nine in the morning. It angered people, but they understood.
Thursday was another day of full rehearsals, but this time with Tara. We worked on Thriller and They Don’t Care About Us. She rushed it because he has today and today only to learn it. It was intense but by the end of the day, he got it. He was incredibly tired but he got it. And now we all wait for tomorrow to see how it all comes together.
Friday was the big day. Everyone was tired, but up and at the Friday morning rehearsals. Josh and I were requested to be on site around 7:30 in the morning, hours before the stage was even fully setup. The stage was being set up way early so we can have this time for the integration process. I let the boys sleep in with understanding that Giannini would walk them over before nine. It’s not too far of a walk but I’d rather them walk with someone. We spent the morning working on quick changes with Josh. He had to memorize where to go between each song, and how to properly and quickly put on each costume. It’s as much as a show backstage, all choreographed as it is on stage. He has a lot of information coming to him.
We stopped for breakfast around eight, and even while we ate the light Dunkin Donuts breakfast, Tara verbally quizzed him on his job. Once we were done with his costumes, Tara ran through different parts of the show, for every time he would need to exit stage, switch costumes and then re-enter the stage. We’ve barely practiced that.
At nine, the rest of the cast and some of the crew arrived. Josh was the only one in costume for this run through, and we ran through most of the show, excluding ‘Gone Too Soon’, ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ and ‘Scream’ because they don’t really affect but add time to his job.
We finished the first run through by the time lunch hit and had an hour break for lunch. They let Josh break, but we had him rest. This is the first time since the creation process that we’re doing the show more than twice a day. We did it twice a day while in Vegas, and that was many months ago. By the time dinner hit, we were all given a two hour break before call for dinner and rejuvenation. Both Tara and Josh felt confident and all I hoped was that he doesn’t forget by the time the show rolls around.
We separated ourselves from the others and went out to dinner at a Panera Bread, the only one in the area. Personally, it’s one of my favorite and it’s awesome to eat before a show. It gives you energy and it’s somewhat healthy.
By the time we got back, it was a normal nightly show. Josh’s experienced it all before and know’s what to expect. He knows how to put on his makeup, where his first costume is and when to be at the stage. It’s ease for him. While getting ready, I skyped with Elyssa whom expressed her wishes of luck to Josh and urged me to find a time on tour in Europe where her and her family could come visit. She knows that while in Europe, we won’t be coming home much. Well, at least not me.
It’s showtime and everyone is calm as normal. It’s a normal night and there’s as much anticipation to do the show as there is to go to bed tonight. To better explain, we always want to be on stage, but we love sleep just as much.
The five of us went out into the audience to interact with the patrons for a bit before the show. It’s still one of my favorite parts because it’s the only real time we get to do this. The music cues us to come up onto the stage and we began Josh’s first real show.
It went smoothly. There were a few close calls, but it was as our first show back in October. A few wrinkles to be ironed, but he got it down and it could only get better. As we exited the stage, everyone remained calm as we stripped of our costumes, makeup and returned to our normal ‘costumes’ and left the arena. It’s always exciting to see the audience reactions as the last of them exit the arena. Some overjoyed, some upset at the lost of Michael. It’s average emotions. It may be show 175 for us, but it’s show #1 for them and it’s all that matters.
We got back from the hotel, all completely exhausted. We hit the hay. I didn’t even see Adrian and Marcell after they went into their room because I fell asleep very quickly after getting into my room. Didn’t even check my phone.
“Tonight’s our last show in Canada!” I was awoken to by Marcell whom somehow gotten into my room. I turned and realized that Leo was up and probably let him in. “I know, but keep calm.” Was my only response. I turned again and looked at the clock. It was eleven in the morning. There wasn’t much to do today. We wanted to hang out at the pool for a bit but it never happened. In fact, the majority of the day was spent relaxing around the rooms. I didn’t actually shower and change out of my PJ’s until it was time to go to work. When we went to work, we arrived a bit early so we could have an adequate amount of time to eat in the catering room.
After eating some delicious steak and glazed onions, it was time to begin the pre-show procedure. I’ve taught Josh some methods on how to stretch, but he’s developed it into his own. Every person is different. He’s the only one of the fanatics who can actually do a split. In fact, we aren’t even that flexible to begin with.
During intermission, I posted on Facebook ‘Half way through our last show in Canada! Onto LA and then Hawaii followed by Mexico City for two weeks and then the North American Tour is over! Europe starts in the fall!”
When the second half of the show started, it felt at a sense of ease. We started in Canada, in Montreal, creating this show from the ground up and now we’re performing our last show in this country. It felt monumental. When questioning the boys about it later in the evening, they didn’t understand what I was talking about.
It’s after the show and in the evening. We’re all wined down and just hanging in our rooms. I’m letting them stay up a bit late just so that they will sleep on the plane tomorrow and then sleep some more since we have a busy few days coming up. I’m sitting in my room, at the desk with Josh as we discuss the plans for Europe. We want to expand our business by doing Masterclasses in a few major cities but not too many so we can take in as much culture as we can when we visit each city. We are both super excited to begin the tour in the fall.
The next morning, are schedule was changed and we had a later flight than normal. Our flight didn’t take off until two in the afternoon, landing us in LA around 3:30. By the time we got off the plane, got on the bus and checked into our hotel, it was near five. On the bright side, we’re staying in a different hotel than last time, and we’re quite close to the Staples Center, which sadly isn’t where I’d like to be while in LA. But it’s close to the two places we’ll be working for the next few days, not including our Masterclass.
We were all pretty pooped that night, so we didn’t go anywhere. We wanted to revisit the Hard Rock Cafe but figured that the visit would happen on another night of our stay. It was already kind of late and we just ordered some food in the hotel and had it delivered to my room, and then we started eating and relaxing. Most of us were asleep by nine thirty. I woke up around eleven and Leo was still up watching TV, so I turned it off and made him go to bed. He wasn’t happy about it.
The next morning, we were up around eight, quick to get ready and walk a few blocks to the studio where we would be rehearsing/restaging Beat It for Europe. It’s one of the biggest changes in the show.
When we arrived, Tara explained her envision. It would start with the Fanatics on A-Stage, move to a fight between two gangs on A-Stage, then the fight would move to B-Stage and that is where the actual dance would take place.
I can’t explain exactly how we rehearsed this dance. Tara was very scattered which is abnormal and she bounced around a lot. It’s unlike her to be that unorganized. But she got it done.
We ended the rehearsal around three, which gave us tons of time to do some touring before having to be at work in three hours. Well, not really enough time to tour the good part of LA due to our guests. Tonight, the Jackson Children are anonymously coming to the show to see it one last time before we leave the country after this stop. This is our last stop in the United States.
And it’s over. A week and a half later, we found ourselves in Mexico City, probably the scariest stop on tour, to me. We’ve officially done all of our tour stops in the United States and it’s time to thrill the audience in Mexico.